A Fledgling with Wings
by A Wingless Angel
Summary: Max gets marked. But the Flock doesn't. What will happen when Max joins Zoey and her friends? Is this how Max is supposed to save the world? The Flock's in it. First Fanfic. Read and Review
1. Chapter 1

"Max!" Nudge whined. "I'm hungry." And as if to prove her point, her stomach grumbled right on cue. "Can we like, stop at McDonald's? I want six Big Mac's and five of those apple pie thingys. Remember when we were dumpster diving at Taco Bell? And Gazzy had five of those bean burrito things? Big mistake." She babbled. I affectionately tuned her out and addressed the rest of my flock.

"Is anyone else hungry?" Okay, I know that I don't usually ask before I act. 'Cause I'm super Max, but I've been overworking them this week and if they want, we could take a short break.

"I can't believe you're making me fly." Total nagged for the fiftieth time. "I'm a dog! Can't you just buy one of those luxury pet carriers?"

"If you have wings, you have to fly." I snapped. You know what? I think taking a break and getting some grub would be a good idea. Plus, Total's getting on my last nerve, again. "Going down!" I yelled and aimed myself to the ground. My flock followed me and we landed in a deserted park. I tucked my wings into the indentations in my spine and put on a windbreaker. "Let's head out!"

"Food…" Iggy moaned dramatically while clutching his stomach. I rolled my eyes at him, but then remembered that he was blind.

"I'm rolling my eyes, Ig." I said. And then of course Gazzy has to show off his newest skill. My nose wrinkled as the disgusting fumes attacked me.

"Let's get out of here." Fang said, carefully not breathing through his nose.

"Never gets old!" Iggy crowed and slapped a high five with Gazzy. Boys. I shook my head.

_You don't think all boys are like that. _Angel said in my head. _What about Fang?_

I blushed furiously and grit my teeth.

_What about Fang?_ I thought.

I have no clue how, but she giggled in my head. _I looked into his mind. Apparently, you loooooove him._

_I do not! I love him as a flock member! I love all of you! _My cheeks reddened. Stupid valium, I'll never live that down.

We found a Starbucks and ordered all of the bakery foods left. The guy working at the counter was too busy trying to flirt with me to notice how much food we were getting. Fang's jaw tightened a fraction of an inch which means he's really pissed. After I swiped my Max card and got the food I smiled sweetly at him. "You're a stupid sexist pig." I saw Fang smile slightly, and Iggy laughed.

We sat down in a few different tables and my eyes swept over the people here. No M-Geeks, Flyboys, or Male model looking Erasers. I relaxed a tiny little bit and took a bit out of the chocolate cookie I was holding. It was a hearty cookie, but not my mom's. My mother's cookies were the best in the world. A single sharp pain entered my temple. _There are other dangers out there. _The voice said. Oh, you mean you don't have one? You can get them cheap from Walmart!

_I see you're back._ I thought. Fang looked at my extremely pissed off face.

"Voice back?" he raised an eyebrow. I nodded sourly. He reached for his tenth blueberry muffin and shoved it into his mouth. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled and Fang jumped into a fighting stance. I shook out of my momentary stupor and whirled around while delivering a round house kick into the attacker's stomach.

"Angel, Gazzy, Nudge! Exit! Meet where we landed!" They nodded and ran out the door. People were giving us funny looks, except for a teenager and her grandmother. I got a good look at my enemy and he had sapphire blue tattoos framing his face. Weird. Is he from the school? With inhuman speed he dodged my punch and started chanting.

"Maximum Ride! Night has chosen thee; thy death will be thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!" He put his thumb onto my forehead and I blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

Yes, you read it right. I, the indestructible Maximum Ride fainted like an incredible sissy. I woke up and saw my flock, the teenager, and her grandmother leaning over me. My head was throbbing and everything hurt. "I feel like crap." I managed to get out. Wait? The whole flock? My eyes narrowed. "I told you guys to meet us at that park."

"We were worried." Gazzy says innocently, but I turned my attention to the girl and her grandmother.

"Who the hell are you?" I snarled, but the effects of it were ruined because of my weak posture on the ground. Not waiting for a reply, I pushed myself off of the ground and dusted myself off.

The teenager looked at me patiently. Ugh. I hate when people look at me like they know everything. "I'm Zoey Redbird." She smiled like we were friends or something. "I guess you know already, but you've been marked."

What the heck? Marked? Oh crap, my old tracking chip was out and they probably found out. Now they put a new one in. _Listen to her_. _You must make connections, Maximum. _The voice chimed in.

_I love making friends with people who want me dead. _I thought sarcastically.

The Voice sighed and if it had a head, it would be shaking it. _Listen to what she has to say._ Fine, but the Voice better have a good reason for this. "Max." I say curtly. "What do you mean by 'marked'?"

"I mean vamprye." She said gently. "Or more accurately, fledgling."

I snorted, "Vampryes aren't real. They're a myth." The teenager, or Zoey, looked shocked and a little pissed.

"Do you live under a rock?" she snapped. No, just in a dog crate.

_Vampryes are real. _Angel said in my mind. _And she's the high priestess in training. She's right you've been marked._ Even in my mind, Angel sounded sad.

_That's why I told you to listen to her. _The Voice sounded smug.

_Get out of my head! _I thought angrily. Everyone stared at me with identical looks of confusion except for Fang and Angel. Fang, because he knew me so well, and Angel because she's the mind reader. If you didn't catch on, I just answered the Voice out loud.

"Don't mind me folks." I said. "Just crazy." The flock's confusion went away because they understood that meant I was talking to the Voice, or Angel explained it to them in their heads. But the extremely annoying Zoey and her grandmother still seemed confused. Like I care if they understand or not. "Let's blow this popsicle stand." And I started heading out the door. But then a supernova of pain entered my skull and I crumple to the ground with tears streaming down my face. I bit my lip to keep from screaming in pain, the flock shouldn't see me like this. I'm their fearless leader, I need to seem in charge. _Maximum! _The Voice sounded panicked. _I'm not doing this! _What the heck? If it's not the Voice, what is it? Unlike the Voice's brain explosion, it was empty. There weren't flashes of images or random scrawls of writing.

Pain is only a message. I can ignore the message. Pain is only a message. I can ignore the message. I kept chanting those words in my mind, willing myself to ignore the pain. After what felt like hours, the pain slowly ebbed away. I carefully removed my hands from clutching my head and sat up. I met Fang's dark worried eyes and smiled sheepishly. "Brain explosion." Fang raised his eyebrow slightly, meaning he was totally and completely weirded out. "What's wrong?" I asked and looked around. My flock was still fine, not even a scratch. I stretched out my arms and legs testing for broken bones or bruises. None.

I turned around and bumped into Zoey. She stared at my forehead and gasped. "Close your mouth or you're gonna start catching flies." I glared at her until she closed her jaw. "Come on." I motioned for my flock to follow and headed out the door.

"Stop." Zoey said in a powerful voice.

I chuckled. "Like that ever stops me." Fang smirked and followed me.

"You need to go to the Tulsa House of Night." She said in the same even tone.

**Read and Review! Please! Flames Welcome!!! .**


	3. Chapter 3

**I forgot to do the copyright thingy. I dont own Maximum Ride or House of Night. I just own my plot line.**

"House of what?" I whirl around and glare at her. "I'd love to go and leave my friends to join some kind of stuck up prep school. Now tell the truth, who hired you?" My voice was dripping with sarcasm. Fang glared at 'Zoey' and my flock put on their toughest faces. They could be so darn cute sometimes.

Now it was Zoey's turn to be confused. "What are you talking about? Are you a gang member or something?" She seemed genuinely confused. But then again, so did Anne. And Anne turned out to be the head honcho of my miserable life. "Max, if you aren't around adult vampryes, you'll die."

_Ange? _I thought. _Can you get into her mind and see if she's lying? I know you said she was a vamprye but I just want to make sure. _Angel paused for a moment before replying.

_I can only get bits and pieces. _She sounded frustrated. _From what I got, she doesn't have any bad intentions. She's curious about your mark though._

_My what? _I thought.

_The thing on your forehead. At first it was just the outline of a moon but then you had a brain explosion and wings appeared on it. _Angel explained.

"Does anyone have a mirror?" I asked. Fang blinked once, translation, he's so confused that his train of thought stopped. Iggy snickered.

"Now she cares about how she looks." Iggy whispered to Gazzy. Note to self, remember to kick Iggy's butt for saying that.

"I do." Zoey said. She pulled out a compact mirror thingy and handed it to me. I popped open the mirror and stared at my reflection. I stifled a gasp because that's not how I roll. I don't gasp, shriek, or giggle. But on my forehead there was a sapphire blue tattoo of the outline of the moon. And on both sides, wings sprouted out of the outlined moon. The wings were a much smaller, much bluer version of my wings. The ones on my back.

"Whaa?" I asked in shock.

"Max," Zoey's grandmother said. "You must go to House of Night."

"What if I don't want to go?" My voice was surprisingly stable.

"Then you'll die choking on your own blood." Zoey said bluntly.

"Can I have a quick talk with my fl-group?" I asked. "You know, like without you two?"

The Zoey person's eyes flared a bit but her grandmother put her hand on Zoey's arm. "She's surprised my u-we-tsi-a-ge-ya. She doesn't mean of it badly, these are her friends. Remember when you were first marked?" The fire in Zoey's eyes died down and she looked away. Her grandmother dragged her back into Starbucks.

"Let's go." I urge. "She's not looking and there's no one else here."

"But she said you were gonna die if you didn't come. I don't want you to die, Max. You're the flock leader. By the way, I was wondering if we could go to the mall. You should join the House of Night, and I could get you a new wardrobe! By the way, choking on your own blood seems like a gross way to die. Speaking of gross, do you think Gazzy could kill someone if we bottled up all of his farts and released them?" Nudge looked worried and she was chatting faster than she normally does.

Angel gazed at me. "I don't want you to go. I'm your little girl. But it's better than you dying."

Iggy cleared his throat, "It'd be weird if no one was around screaming at me for being a sexist pig."

Gazzy nodded while blinking back tears, "Or yelling at us more exploding something important."

Fang stared into my eyes with a troubled expression. "You have to go to House of Night."

I stared back into those deep, dark beautiful eyes. "I promised the flock would never have to split up again." I sucked in a deep breath. I'm horrible at touchy feely moments like these.

"But if you died it would be worse." Fang said.

"Would I still be leader?" I asked hesitantly.

"As long as you want it." Fang promised.

"You're in charge until I'm back." I said. Then Fang leaned in and kissed me gently on the lips. After a second he pulled away and the side of his mouth quirked. Instead of talking to me, he gave me one of our looks. This one said, I'll be waiting. Our romantic moment was brought to an end by Gazzy, his eyes were bugging out of his head and his jaw was unhinged.

"Gross!" He yelled.

"What happened?" Iggy complained. "Something must have happened! Spare the blind kid and just tell him!"

Nudge was completely silent which was the weirdest part.

Fang rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I just kissed Max." His cheeks turned pink and I felt my own redden as we waited for Iggy's reaction.

"Finally!" Iggy yelled. "We've been waiting forever for that to happen!" I rolled my eyes and then remembered to tell him.

"I'm rolling my eyes, Ig."

Zoey strolled out of Starbucks and glanced at me. I nodded and she trotted over. "Are you coming to House of Night?" I nodded wordlessly. "Great, grab your backs and I'll give you a ride."

"This is it." I said and patted my backpack. She looked surprised but before she could ask, I spun up a story. "I came here with my friends," I point to my flock. "For a vacation. We lost our luggage at the airport, but we have enough things from our carry on items."

"Oh, that sucks." Zoey said.

"Not the best vacation." I agreed. "I'm just gonna say goodbye one last time." Zoey nodded and I ran back to my flock. I hugged all of them and we were all crying. When I reached Fang I pulled him into a hug and expected him to turn into an unmoving statue. But instead, he hugged me back and whispered into my ear.

"I'll miss you Max." A tear dropped onto my hand and I looked up in surprise. Mr. Emotionless Rock was crying.

"Here." I handed him my Max card. "If I'm at some kind of boarding school, I won't need this." His hands close around the card and he keeps crying.

Angel jumped into my arms. "Max-" she gets choked off by sobbing. I murmured encouraging words and patted her hair. _Take Total. _She said in my mind.

"Why?" I asked gently.

_He can give us updates on what's happening. I'm connected into his mind in a really strong way. _She was still crying in my mind.

"Time to go." Zoey pulls me away from my flock, my family, the only people I trust. My life, they flock was the glue that held me together. What's going to happen to me without them?

** Review or I won't write the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I dont own HON or Max Ride. I wish I did but I dont...**

"Welcome to Tulsa's House of Night." Zoey said. "This is Neferet, the high priestess."

Somehow, Zoey convinced me to cover up the wing parts of my tattoo with concealer. She said people would stare at me, and that's the last thing I need with my paranoia.

Neferet was stunning. She had auburn hair the fell in delicate waves around her. Delicate waves, wow, let's just forget I said that. Her eyes were luminous and wise. The very air around her radiated power. She was perfect.

I didn't like her one bit.

For some reason she reminded me of the male model looking erasers. They looked perfect, until they turned into wolf men that is. _She can read minds._ The Voice said.

_Can you set up some kind of mind block or something? _I thought.

_Already did. _The Voice added. _Pretend to like Neferet. _Well I'm not that great at pretending to like someone, but okay. Only because the Voice managed to set up mind block.

"Hi, I'm Max." I smiled at her and tried to make warmth come out of my eyes.

"Welcome to House of Night. Here if you'd like, you can change your name into something you like better." Neferet said sounding friendly and motherly. One word, fake. She's almost as bad as Anne Walker.

"Nah," I grinned. "I like my name." After all, I did name myself.

"What's your name? We need to get you schedules and a dorm." She sounded so freakin' fake!

"My name's Maximum Ride, but just call me Max." I grinned as Zoey and Neferet's eyes bugged. Is my name really that strange? I guess it is. But it'd be even funnier if Fang was here. Get it? Vampryes have fangs? Little bit of bird kid humor for ya there.

"Max, you'll be roommates with Zoey. Zoey, I expect you to take care of Max until she gets used to things here." I grit my teeth to cage the sarcasm that rose in my throat. I just hate it when grownups try to rule your life. "Show Max the room you'll be sharing." And Neferet walked away. Total trotted up to me and wagged his tail like a normal dog.

"Why are they so many cats here?" I asked.

"Cats are just here." Zoey shrugged. "My cat Nala doesn't really like dogs. But the cats are getting used to dogs."

"Why?" I asked to keep a conversation going.

"Stark got transferred here and his dog is a lot bigger than yours." She shrugged again. "Do you mind if I introduce you to my friends before I show you my-our room?"

Now it's my turn to shrug. "Sure." She leads me through winding hallways and multiple buildings into a large cafeteria. I inhale the wonderful smells of food. "Can I grab some food first? I haven't eaten all day."

She nods, "I'll get something too."

I get one of everything to the shock of the servers and Zoey. Zoey gets a small salad. We pay and sit down at a table of her friends. I started attacking my food like, well like an eraser.

"Hey Z!" A brown haired boy said. "Who's this?" I hate when people talk about me like I'm not there. The white coats always did that. We were only experiments, unworthy of names and being spoken to. I grit my teeth in frustration.

"I'm Max." I said icily. "Not this. I'm Max, the person who will kick your butt into next week if you talk about me like I'm not there."

"Queen Damien," A pale girl with blond hair and blue eyes said. "New girl just dissed you."

"Or threatened, twin." Said I girl who looked like an older version of Nudge. My throat closed up and I almost choked on what I was eating. My flock wasn't here and I was. What am I going to do without them?

"How do you eat that much?" A blond girl sneered.

"Aphrodite, that was rude." Zoey said. I shrugged and kept shoveling food into my mouth. What kind of a name is Aphrodite? I guess I have no right to ask because my name's Maximum.

"Look at what she's wearing, though." The blond, Aphrodite said.

"Hate to say it but we agree with the hag." The older Nudge said.

"Shut up!" I snarled. "Don't talk about me while I can hear you like I'm not here!"

"Major attitude problem." The pale blond said.

"Yup." Said the older Nudge.

Zoey sighed. "This is my group. The pale blond one is Erin and that's her twin Shaunee." She pointed to the African American one. "That's Damien." She gestured to the brown haired one. "And that's his boyfriend Jack." Okay, so he's gay. "This is Erik." She points to a black haired guy who I suspect's her boyfriend. "That's Aphrodite." She said and pointed to the Barbie look alike.

"You'll get fat if you eat that much." Jack said innocently. I snort in response. I'm skinny and tall, that's never going to change. It's a bird kid thing.

"Jack's right." Damien said. "It's unhealthy to eat that much."

"I'm surprised you haven't said anything about my table manners." I say shove another sandwich into my mouth. They seem surprised, like a rock just talked. "Close your mouths before I break your jaws." I hiss.

"Hi Maxie." A familiar voice says from behind. Adrenaline pumps into my veins and I jump around into a fighting stance. Ari.

**Wadda ya think? R&R and I mean it!!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Max?" Ari asked hesitantly. You know I'm not your enemy any more, right? Remember Europe?" Oh yeah, he helped us escape and fought against Itex. We kicked butt! And then he died.

I lowered my arms and relaxed my stance. "Sorry, but when you said Maxie I just reacted. Old habits die hard." Wait Ari? "Ari! You're not dead!"

He shook his head, "I'm so lucky. Death doesn't like me." I laughed and noticed the stares of Zoey and her friends.

"Be right back!" I smiled sweetly at them and walked into the hallway with Ari. "What about the expiration date on your neck?" I whispered.

He lifted his shirt collar and showed me a clear, unblemished neck. Ari shrugged. "It went away as soon as I was marked." This is crazy, I've killed Ari once, I've seen Ari die once, and he's still alive. I'm happy now about it, considering the fact he isn't all mental and 'kill the flock! I want chicken for dinner.' Or something stupid like that. Even if he's my half brother, I'll still kill him if it'll save my flock.

"You were dead! I helped bury your grave! Jeb was really-" Jeb. That stupid filthy liar told me Ari was dead and I believed him. Haven't I learned my lesson already? Like, you know, when he ditched the flock? Apparently not.

Ari sighed. "Jeb wanted to tell you, but I didn't. You have enough things to worry about already."

"Like saving the world?" I teased.

"Yeah." He admitted.

"It's not my job anymore." I grin. "I'm a fledgling now and the flock has to save the world."

_Only you can save the world, Max. It's not the flock's job. It's yours._ The Voice said.

"My life's already crappy enough! Now I'm a fledgling and I still have to save the world!" I yell.

"Max?" Ari asks. I hold my pointer finger up to tell him to shut up.

"Sorry, the Voice is enlightening me." I muttered sarcastically.

_You have to make connections here. These people can do things you can't. You'll need their help._ The Voice said.

_What can they do? I'm a genetically enhanced mutant freak, and a vamprye. What can they do that I can't?_ I thought.

_Control the elements. _The Voice replied. Even Angel can't do that and she's the one loaded with powers. But I bet they can't control people's minds, can they?

"Let's go back to the lunch room." I said. "I'm getting a massive headache."

"Hey! Max, you're back!" Damien said. I smiled warmly.

"Sorry about my sudden outburst. That was a…pet peeve of mine." M-Geeks aren't the only ones with vocabulary.

"No problem!" Jack said.

"So how old are you?" Zoey asked conversationally.

"Fourteen." I replied. Give or take a few years. Everyone was staring at me again. "Take a picture! It'll last longer!" I snapped.

"She looks our age." Erin gasped.

"But not as hot, twin." Shaunee added.

I have to be friendly. I have to be friendly. "I'm just tall for my age." I fumed. Total rolled his eyes. I shot him the bird.

"Why did you just flip off your dog?" Erik asked.

"Total has a huge ego." I glared at Total who wagged his tail innocently. "And he has to eat dog food." Total glared at me and barked because he didn't want to blow the whole talking dog thing. I smirked back at Total.

"You're crazier than Zoey here." Aphrodite said. I peered closely at her mark. It looks shakier and a shade off. I wonder why no one else noticed…oh yeah, raptor vision.

"Why's your mark different?" I asked Aphrodite. She paled a little and licked her lips.

"It's not different." She sneered and flipped her hair back. "Your eyesight must really suck." Ha! As if, hello? Raptor vision?

"I don't think she was talking to you." Zoey sighed. "I think she was asking me."

"No, I was asking Aphrodite." I snorted. "I'd have to be blind not to notice yours."

"I don't see anything different about Aphrodite's." Jack said.

"Same here." Erik agreed.

Zoey looked at me suspiciously. "How does it look different?"

"It's shakier and the shade is a little darker." I look away. I feel like an experiment.

_That's because you are._


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Somehow, I always forget to do these things. But that doesn't mean that HON or Max Ride belong to me. I wish...**

_Maximum, when will you understand? Your whole life is an experiment to save the world. _The Voice chastised. I pressed my fingers over my temple and winced. When the Voice started getting agitated, well then that's when I started getting headaches.

_I control my life. _I thought fiercely. _You can't make me do anything. Neither can Itex or the Mr. Chu. It's my life. _

The Voice clicked its tongue in disapproval. _I thought you were smarter than that. You were created to be the fastest, the strongest, the smartest, the complete maximum. The only reason you were created was to save the world._

I rolled my eyes and hoped that the Voice could pick up things like that. "I'm sorry, but Jeb already beat you. And I'm sorry to say that it wasn't interesting then and it isn't interesting now." I snarled. Crap! I said that out loud. I looked around the table and got very strange looks. Most of them were the normal, are-you-mental look, but Zoey had a curious look and somehow, that was even worse. I dunno, call me paranoid 'cause I'm the most paranoid person in the world. But that's what kept us alive.

Should I lie and try to cover it up? Or, god forbid, tell the truth? _The truth, Max. You need to tell them the truth._ At least this is pretty straight forward, not the fortune cookie trash I usually get. The Voice hasn't let me down yet, so I'll listen to it.

I cleared my throat self-consciously. "Uh, this is gonna sound really crazy, but I have a voice in my head." I take a nervous glance around the table and see them shaking with laughing.

"I always knew there was something wrong with Max." Shuanee laughed.

"Ditto, twin." Erin said.

"It's not just that." I said defensively. "Sometimes it gives me directions and tells me things. Most of the time it spouts fortune cookie crap."

Everyone stops laughing at me. "What do you mean by that?" Damien asked sounding oh so whitecoat-ish.

"Sometimes when I get confused, it tells me where to go. Sometimes it also gives me random info on people." I mumbled.

Zoey grinned. "It sounds like you have an affinity."

"What the hell is an affinity?" I snapped.

"It's a gift given to us from our goddess." She said.

"Ha! A gift given from a goddess! I know exactly where this came from and its not goddess given." I laughed bitterly. It's from inhumane, illegal experimenting and we're programmed to keep evolving. Angel's got the jackpot with the whole powers thing.

Erik sighed. "It's like a superpower." Oh so it's like _flying_ or _super speed _or_ breathing underwater! _It's not a superpower, it's a mutation.

I decided to pretend to go along with them. "That's cool! Do any of you have…er affinities?"

"Zoey's loaded." Erik chuckled. "She has an affinity for fire, earth, water, air, and spirit." That's a lot. I hope I'll always have less than her, but my plans would be ruined if I kept mutating.

"Damien has an affinity for air." Jack piped up.

"I have an affinity for water." Erin said smugly.

"Fire, baby." Shaunee added.

"Visions." Aphrodite spat. She glared at me. "Guess what? You're in one of them."

"I'm honored." I said sarcastically.

"But there's something strange about you in that vision." Aphrodite said. "You have wings."

**REVIEW! PLEASE! EVERYONE WHO REVIEWS GETS A FREE BUCKET OF AIR!!!! (bucket not included) REVIEW!!!!!! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I still don't own HON or Maximum Ride, do I look like James Patterson to you? Wait, don't answer that. I can honestly truthfully say, life sucks. jk. I meant I am not P.C. Cast or Kristin Cast either! (looks up at the freaky people monitoring the disclaimer crap.) "Are you guys happy now?"**

She knows. She knows that I have wings! What the hell am I gonna do? I kept my face impassive while I was scraping up some kind of lie in my mind. It's a habit, and a talent. Oh, I have an idea! I forced excitement into my eyes and tone. "Do you think the goddess will give me wings? That would be so cool!"

"If Nyx does, that would explain your mark." Zoey said thoughtfully. These people are too trusting.

"Her mark's normal." Jack said.

"We just covered some parts of it up." I said.

"Come on everyone. I'll show you in our room." Zoey said. It seems like she's the leader here. Not that I want to be the leader. I'll only lead the flock. I polished off my last salad and chugged my sixth root beer. Wiping my mouth with my sleeve I let out a huge burp.

"Okay." I followed Zoey into our shared dorm room. As long as I have a shower with hot water and a bed, I'm beyond fine. I mean come on, sleeping in trees and caves? That's my normal. Zoey closed the door behind her and did a quick head count to make sure everyone was here.

"Wash off the concealer." She said.

"Like hell I will!" I growled. No one can control what I do.

_Stop overreacting. _My, oh so annoying Voice said.

The Voice inside of my _head_ is giving me life lessons, oh the irony. I splashed some water onto my face and the concealer dripped off. I heard several gasps.

"Your mark has wings." Damien said.

"Thank you, captain obvious." I muttered sourly.

"Wow, that's almost as weird as Z." Shuanee said. Give the girl a prize!

"But we're used to weird." Aphrodite tossed her glossy blond hair over her shoulder.

"Of course you are." I laughed. Does weird mean having wings, being experimented on, growing up in a dog crate, and fighting for you life at a moment's notice? Well it doesn't in my book, that's just life. Oh, never forget the fact that I have a _voice in my head_ that tells me to save the world. The _whole freaking world_! Isn't that a lot of responsibility for a fourteen-year-old avian American?

"Why are you laughing? Erik asked.

"Nothin' just thinking that your weird and my weird are way different." I blurted out without thinking. The hairs on the back on my neck prickled and I backhanded whoever was behind me, thinking it was an Eraser, Flyboy or an M-Geek.

Apparently it wasn't any of the above. It was Damien.

And now, thanks to me, his nose was gushing blood. Did I mention that vamprye fledglings are as fragile as humans? If that was Fang that I backhanded or anyone in my flock it would've been equal to a slap. One word my friend, eggshell.

"Shit! Max broke Queen Damien's nose!" Erin yelled.

"I've always wanted to do that." Shuanee shook her head regretfully.

"I-I'm sorry!" I said feverishly. "I didn't think that was you. I'm sorry!" I examined his face. "Your nose isn't broken. It's just bleeding. Don't worry too much about the blood, head wounds always bleed a lot. Just stay there and put pressure on your nose to make the bleeding stop." Leader Max was back. Getting marked and meeting new friends freaked me out, but minor injuries like these, psh! Nothing.

"Why did you whack me?" Damien said nasally. Why nasally, you might be wondering. Well he's putting pressure on his nose to stop the bleeding! Get with the program people! Jeez!

"Habit." I shrugged indifferently. "Don't be such a weenie. It's not even a broken nose."

Jaws dropped. I'm guessing that wasn't the best thing to say, but hey, he's older than me. Angel can get a bone broken and she won't shed a tear, let alone complain. But I comfort her and the others when they actually get hurt. Bleeding nose, no biggie.

"You're a cold blooded heartless person." Damien mumbled.

"Last time I checked, when you can talk and complain, it doesn't mean you're dying. Unless you have some kind of weird wacky disease." Or have an expiration date tattooed on your neck. "If you're in danger of dying, you'd be moaning in pain or unconscious."

"Well," Erik said nervously. "I'll take Damien back to the guy's dorm and Jack can come with us." Clearly, he wants to get away from me, the heartless killing machine.

"Okay." I shrugged and sat on my new bed. "Don't excite Damien by running around or the bleeding's never gonna stop."

"We gotta go too." Erin and Shaunee added. "There's a sale at the mall."

"Love my boots." Shuanee purred.

They hustled out leaving me, Zoey, and Aphrodite. Guess what happened next? If you guessed a horrible man eating ladybug materialized out of thin air, you guessed…wrong. It could happen one day, never underestimate mad scinetists. If you guessed a brain attack, ding! Ding! Ding! You were right! Extra points if you can guess who got the brain attack.

Yup, it was me. Yours Featherly.

**Review! IF you don't, flying toasters will take over the world and it will be all your fault! You wouldn't want that to happen, would you? The world in ruins just because you were too lazy to review. And no this is not a threat, it's a fact.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own HON or Max Ride! Happy? Apparently not... Thanks so much for reviewing!! (hint hint)

My brain exploded in pain and tears trickled down my face. I curled up onto the floor with my hands clutching my head. Don't blow up now, I begged. Images and random words flashed under my eyes but I couldn't understand any of it. Everything was just there for a split second and then something new would replace it. I bit my lip to keep myself from screaming. Just kill me, I asked God. If you're out there, just please kill me and get it over with. Please, please, please just make it go away. After what felt like hours, the agony slowly ebbed away leaving a very freaked bird kid. I haven't had a brain attack for weeks. Were they always this painful?

"Hey, you ok?" Zoey asked uncertainly. Aphrodite glanced at me and then looked away.

"I'm fine." I croaked, hating how weak I looked.

_Weakness isn't always bad. _The Voice said. _If you have no weakness, you aren't a person. Heroes conquer their weakness._

_So let me get this straight. _I thought angrily. _First, you tell me my whole life's an experiment. My whole freakin' life! And now you're telling me it's human to be weak? Well let me tell you buddy, your fortune cookieness is bugging the heck outta me! Can't you ever tell me something without making it a crazy riddle? Is that too much to ask for? _

My mental tirade was interrupted by Aphrodite, the Barbie doll. "Did you just have a vision?" She asked, lacking her sneer.

"Nope." I said popping the p. "Just something else that happens a lot. Something _very annoying _that happens a lot."

_I'm very sorry to hear than, Maximum. _The Voice sure didn't sound sorry, but then again, it was always lacking emotions.

"Just shut up already!" I yelled.

"Whatever." Aphrodite tossed her hair over her shoulder and smirked. "You're worse than Zoey. She barely cusses, but you don't cuss at all."

"Wow. You know what? You're right! You deserve a gold star!" I said sarcastically. "Who cares if I don't cuss?" I try not to cuss in my head either, we don't want Angel to improve her vocabulary.

She shrugged. "I just wanted to point that out."

I made my eyes huge and innocent. "Well I'll remember to work on that, thanks!"

Aphrodite glared at me. I have a habit of getting under people's skin. What can I say? It's a talent. "Work on your fashion sense." She sneered. Was that supposed to be a diss? Work on your fashion sense? I don't know squat about fashion and I don't think that's very important. There were always more important things to worry about like, getting attacked, food and shelter, flock problems, The School, Itex, saving the world, expiration dates, and Fang. Did I actually just think Fang? Let's just forget I thought that, kay?

"Stop fighting!" Zoey said. "You guys have no clue what I'm going through, and this doesn't help!"

"Excuse me?" I said venomously. "What you're going through?"

Aphrodite glared at me. I kinda expected her to start hissing or something, but she nodded. "Zoey's got a lot of responsibilities for a fledgling."

"Then please explain to me." I rolled my eyes and pretended to yawn. This would be boring; anything's boring compared to my life. A walk in the park.

"We can't, the vamps would find out." Zoey said.

"How come she knows?" I ask half heartedly.

"They can't read Zoey's mind or mine." Aphrodite said smugly.

"Cool, so I'm not the only one." I said, not really caring.

"They can't read your mind? How do you know?" Zoey asked.

I shrugged. "They just can't, trust me, they can't."

"We'll talk this over." Zoey said, referring to Aphrodite and herself.

"I'll take a nice, hot shower." I said and walked into the bathroom.

In the shower I sighed and relaxed, as much as I could, as the hot water poured onto me. One thing I hate about being on the run is no showers, we all get grimy and showers are just nice. The good thing about my gills, are that they only show up when I'm engulfed in water. Showers and rain don't make them pop out.

After my shower I walked back into the dorm room. The feeling of being clean made me feel lighter and happier. Aphrodite raised a perfect eyebrow when she saw me. "What?" I asked harshly.

"Why are you wearing the same clothes that you were wearing before you showered?" She said in disgust.

I gave her the same excuse for the missing luggage.

"I forgot about that!" Zoey whacked her head with her hand. "I'll lend you something."

"Thanks." I said, sounding unsure. Not a lot of people are this kind to me. When it comes to beating up some people, I'm totally relaxed. Yet when someone's kind, I clam up. The joy of being an anti-social mutant freak.

What did Zoey lend me? Some sweats? A T-shirt and some jeans? Nope. She handed me a freakin' mini skirt! I hate skirts already, but a mini skirt!? Too bad for me, she took my other clothing and put it in the washer. So I'm stuck in a freakin' mini skirt until the laundry's done! Luckily, she gave me a sweatshirt. At least I don't have to worry about my wings. But still! A MINI SKIRT! I examined myself in the mirror. The reflection looking back at me looked even more Barbie like than Aphrodite. Ugh.

I glared at Zoey when she came into view. "You lent me a freakin' MINI SKIRT! What the heck is wrong with you?" She smiled sheepishly.

"It was the only thing that was left. Everything else's laundry." She shrugged. "You look like Aphrodite."

"Thanks." I said sarcastically. "My goal in life is to look like Barbie." Zoey eyed my shoes thoughtfully.

"Combat boots and a mini skirt doesn't fit. Do you want me to lend you some shoes?" Zoey never struck me as fashion crazy as Nudge, but people can surprise you.

"No thanks. I like my combat boots." I said sourly. They're heavy enough to do some damage when I kick. Zoey frowned but didn't do anything else.

"I've decided that I'm going to tell you about my crappy life." She said. Bet it's not as bad as my shorter crap filled life. Zoey sat on the carpet and began talking.

Review!!!! Please!!! If I get five more reviews I'll.....update more often!!! Btw, the reason I didn't update sooner was 'case the computer wouldn't let me...I got soooooo pissed! REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9

I don't own anything except for my plotline

Special thanks to all my reviewers!

Reader8176

Inkmoon

Allyxandra Hunter

Maxeyn

addicted-2-oxygen

Foxya15

midnighthess

BobbyAnneSueJoe. The Second

SapphireWingsOfTwilight

Imelda Volturi

christinesangel100

Thank you soooo much for reviewing! You have no clue how much it means to me!! Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing!

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"Wow." I whistled. "That's pretty bad."

"Pretty bad?" Aphrodite asked venomously. "It's a lot more responsibility than _you_ have. Or me, or anyone."

"Sure whatever." I said patronizingly. Zoey's life is a walk in the park compared to mine. I had to do way more than her, and I wasn't living all cushy and protected, was I? I have to protect the Flock—my throat closed up again and tears sprang to my eyes. My Flock.

What were they doing right now? Were they crying and forgetting to take care of themselves? Did Itex already kidnap them again? Were they being experimented on test after test after test?

I need my Flock. Without them, I'm like a mother bear without her cubs. Lonely, Heartbroken, and irritable.

Then my depression transformed into anger. Why did the tracker have to mark me? Why couldn't they mark someone who didn't have, well I dunno, wings? Bad choice world. I let out a dry laugh and balled up my fists. I can't believe I'm thinking this, but why aren't there any Erasers attacking? We thought they were tracking me before I got that stupid chip removed or Total. But what if the whole Flock was chipped? They could be tied up and gagged right this moment. No, worse, they could be in The School right now.

My breathing quickened and I clenched my fists even tighter. Go, go, go, I have to find the Flock. I need to protect my Flock. My feet carried my across the room and I opened the door.

"What are you doing?" Aphrodite's disapproving voice jolted me out of my panic for a second. After that, the Voice decided to pay me a little visit.

_Calm down, Max. The Flock's fine. Heartbroken, but safe. You know they can take care of themselves. Aren't you the one who taught them how to fight and survive? You're just overreacting again. Just take a deep breath and let it out. The Flock's fine._

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a few deep breaths to calm my breathing patterns. _The Flock's fine._ I thought. _They're safe. No need to overreact. It's just my own paranoia again._

_That's right, Max. Just calm down._ The Voice answered.

But my paranoia is what kept my—the Flock safe for all these years.

_Maximum. _The Voice replied. _You're always jumpier when the Flock's separated. _

I nodded and glanced at Total. He shook out his fur and rolled his eyes at me. Then he sniffed a cat that I didn't notice before and barked like a real dog. "No, Total. You can't chase Zoey's cat." I said in a commanding voice so it'd make him seem like just another dumb dog. Total glared at me in disgust and trotted away with his chin up.

"First time I've seen a dog with an ego." Zoey muttered.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet." I said impulsively.

"What do you mean by that?" Aphrodite asked suspiciously. I'm beginning to think that I shouldn't have said that.

"Well." I said to buy time. "Total is a very…er weird dog." I heard a 'hey!' in the distance that probably meant Total had heard me. But luckily, Zoey and Aphrodite only have human hearing. "For some strange reason he hates generic dog food and only eats human food."

"Dog with an ego." Zoey repeated.

I laughed and then forced my not-so-normal head to think of a safe topic to talk about. "So…are the rest of your friends scared of me? Or are they going to counterattack or just ignore that?"

Zoey laughed. "I don't think they'll hold a grudge against you. They'll all very nice people."

Aphrodite smirked at Zoey. "Well, _I_ think that the nerd herd will hate you. What do they call me? Oh yeah, they still call me a hag bitch from hell."

"Well you don't seem like an angel either." I replied airily.

"What did you say bitch?" She snapped.

"What do you mean?" I smiled innocently and tried to assume an Angel-like expression.

Before Aphrodite could hit me—or _try _to, Neferet walked, scratch that, _glided_ in gracefully and smiled. Her expression hardened when her gaze landed on Zoey and Aphrodite and she glared for a split second, but then her gaze returned to me and she was all gentle and perfect.

"Here's your schedule." She practically sang. Ugh, ugh, ugh, she's too perfect. I resisted the urge to rearrange that perfect face.

Neferet's eyes flicked to my mark, that didn't have anything covering the sapphire wings.

I'm screwed.

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C'mon!!! Review!!! I already thanked my reviewers and gave you bucketless buckets of air!! What more do you want!? (sob)


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks so much for the ppl who reviewed! It made me soooo happy so now I'm adding a new chappie! It's kinda short though...

I don't own anything, cept the plot.

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"What's wrong with your mark?" Neferet asked in a sweet musical voice. Something flashed in her eyes that indicated the fact that she was neither sweet nor musical. I decided to do something that I've never dreamed of doing before…but I started ever since I came here.

Playing "dumb blond."

"What's what on my forehead?" I asked in what hopefully was confusion. "It's a mark, right? You know, that moon shaped blue thing?" I widened my eyes and attempted an Angel.

Neferet narrowed her eyes slightly, and then deemed that I was innocent. Dummy. "It's just your mark." She marveled. "It has wings." I pulled on my WTF expression and dashed towards the bathroom. Staring in the mirror, I saw my beautiful wings in blue ink adorning my mark…again.

"My mark has wings!" I screeched as if I won the lottery. "Oh my god! My mark has wings! This is so awesome!!!" Neferet chucked and shook her head.

"There's no need to get too excited." She said sternly. "Nyx has marked you in a special way." Just like the lab created me "in a special way." But I played along and nodded crazily, like Nudge.

"Do you think I'll be able to fly?" Been there, done that. A lot. "Or zap people with my eyes?" No thank you…Iggy would just love that though. "Or read minds?" Hey, no need for another Angel. "Or make magic potions?" I babbled in rapid fire.

"I'm not sure." Neferet mused. "Probably not, but maybe so. We'll keep a close eye on you, Maximum Ride." I bit back a growl. She sounded like a whitecoat. Except that whitecoats might call you specimen 0001 or something.

"Okay! Tell me if you figure anything out!" I grinned as Neferet waltzed out the door. Her footsteps faded until even my genetically enhanced ears couldn't hear her anymore.

"Never knew you could act." Aphrodite said, almost without sneering.

"Never knew that shirts were made that small." I countered, without thinking. Okay, so comebacks are natural from bugging whitecoats all your life.

A small bell sound beeped or rang or whatever and Zoey rummaged through her purse. "That's not a bomb or anything?" I asked hesitantly, hoping that Iggy hadn't sold Zoey one of his new inventions.

"Why the hell would it be a bomb?" Aphrodite asked. "It's her cell." As in body cell? Or cell phone…yeah, it's her cell phone.

"It's a text from Stevie Rae." Zoey muttered. "She needs more blood."

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Thanks for reading! I know it's short, but I've been busy! Review!!!! Please! (If you don't want to review click the review button, it gives you candy)


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry about the late update. I don't have an excuse like I was sick or a relative died or my best friend was in rehab. Nope, I was just being lazy. Forgive me?**

**(happy birthday reader8176!)**

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"Who the heck is Stevie Rae?" I asked, not bothering to question the blood part. Vampires=blood. Or something like that.

"Er, she's my undead best friend." Zoey replied hastily before Aphrodite and I could get into another argument about my intelligence.

"Who's as scary as hell." Aphrodite added. That's not the weird part, from my few hours here, I figured everything she said was a put down or just plain stupid. The weird part was the fact that she sounded dead serious. Yup, I'd say it's as weird as Fang giggling.

…

Ick, never mind. It's _almost_ as weird as Fang giggling.

"Oh," I replied. "Her." Yeah, Zoey already explained everything to me but how was I supposed to remember all their names? I barely remember the names of anyone in my life, let alone hers. Actually, I gave them nicknames in my head. So sue me. 'Stevie Rae' was 'Zombie Girl'…not that I was going to tell them that.

Hurriedly, Zoey grabbed a HUGE bag and moved her stuff into it. I watched her, feeling another yawn coming. Why did teenage girls lug around those ridiculous purses? I mean, you can't go wrong with a sturdy backpack. Plus, Zoey was pretty much a complete idiot for telling me everything that happened to her. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't going to hurt her, but who tells a complete stranger their life story?

_Trust is a great gift. You're very lucky Zoey gifted you._ The Voice told me, sounding sooooo creative.

Zoey bustled into the bathroom, muttering something about covering her mark. I nodded and pretended I understood while basically scream thinking at the Voice.

_Well apparently I'm not a very giving person. _I could almost imagine my heavy black sarcasm dripping from the words like ink.

After giving the room a disdainful glare, Aphrodite perched onto Zoey's bed like a snobby queen. Thankfully, she didn't say anything to me or else I'd probably rip her throat out without Zoey here to play peacekeeper.

Zoey burst out of the bathroom with a smooth, unmarked forehead. To a normal human eye that is. I, being the oh-so-special bird kid that I am, could see the tiniest difference between her make up and skin. Since I learn from my mistakes, I didn't comment on the difference.

Aren't you proud of me? I know that I am.

Aphrodite stood up and shot a glance at me. "She's not coming."

"She can hear you." I said pointedly, glaring at the life sized Barbie doll. Zoey's eyes flickered from Aphrodite to me and she nodded.

"Max, you can't come." Zoey sounded apologetic, but firm.

I took that as a 'You can come as long as Aphrodite and I don't find out.'

"Fine, fine." I muttered, sounding, gasp, agreeable. But little did they know that they've just acquired a very talented stalker. "I'll just nap or something."

Zoey trotted out the door in a rush. Of course, Ms. Barbie Doll Extreme couldn't leave as humbly. No, she had to smirk at me and exit with a dramatic hair flip. It took every ounce of my almost nonexistent patience not to rip her pretty little head off.

Total, surprisingly, was nowhere to be seen. For a second, I worried about him being kidnapped by Erasers. But he was probably wandering around in the ladies' restroom or something. Note to self: Give Total a three hour lecture on his…attraction to human women. He was a DOG for heaven's sake. Not to mention the fact that he had Akila.

Aphrodite and Zoey's footsteps got farther away and I decided to start my little journey. I made my steps as light as feathers (haha, some more bird kid humor for ya) and followed them. Frowning, Zoey turned around and rubbed her neck. Seeing nothing, she moved foreword.

I had to smother my giggles from behind the plant I was hiding in. Can you spell cliché? All I needed was some sunglasses and abracadabra! I'd be the corny hero of some silly movie.

_Concentrate Max!_ The Voice commanded me.

Rolling my eyes, I silently caught up with my prey. _Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just calm down Voice._

Five minutes later, everything was going fine. I had to duck behind whatever was available every time one of them turned around, but I didn't get caught. Aphrodite whirled around quickly, scanning the park around her. Her eyes passed the shrub that was blocking me from her view and she shrugged.

"What are you hiding from?" A low voice whispered in my ear and I jumped back in surprise from the close proximity.

"Stop doing that Fang." I muttered, tracking Zoey and Aphrodite with my eyes. They made a left turn down some downtown street.

"Do what? Breath?" His whisper held a hint of amusement in it and I nodded.

"Stop sneaking up on me." I hissed, shooting Fang a glare. He examined me calmly in his usual black attire but his eyes were brighter than normal. Behind him, the Flock sat huddled around me. Total was snuggled up to Angel's thin frame and she was petting him lightly. So that's where the dumb dog was. Well, I don't have to waste three hours of my life anymore.

Wait…Fang? And the Flock?

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed and threw my arms around him in a very un-Max-like gesture. He smirked at me and his obsidian eyes sparkled.

"About time you noticed." He replied.

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**I hope you forgive this lazy author and revive! Please, please, please review! :3 It might give me the initiative to get the next chapter up quicker ;)**


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the super late update. You guys have to right to totally hate me D: I loved all the positive feedback from the last chapter n_n

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"Yeah." Total said, totally ruining the moment. Suddenly, the nonexistent violins halted and the pink bubbles surrounding the Flock disappeared. (haha, I'm kidding. I haven't completely lost my mind yet) My eyes scanned over every flock member, and to my relief, they looked well fed. Or as well fed as we can ever be. Right now, with their lightly breathing bodies and glowing eyes, they seemed as alert and alive as ever.

"What are you doing?" Gazzy asked, his baby blue eyes wide and interested. "Would you need any explosives?"

Angel smiled somewhat smugly and glanced at me. Her smug expression quickly disappeared when she realized that she didn't know everything going on inside my head. Her sky blue eyes found mine and a question formed on her lips.

I quickly let go of Fang and hugged Angel, my baby girl, to me. "I have a temporary mind block." I explained before she could ask. "The vampyres at the academy can read minds."

"Ohmygoodness!" Nudge shrieked. Vaguely, I wondered why she hadn't said anything yet. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Iggy wiping what looked like a bite mark on the palm of his hand. Rolling my eyes, I opened my arms wider to let Nudge into our mushy hug fest. "What's the school like? I saw some of them when you were going and they're gorgeous! Did you see Zoey's outfit? It's like, so fall chic…although she could use a plum colored scar and some copper earrings." Nudge kept babbling, and I already tuned her out.

"Hey Igs," I called out. Iggy turned towards me and his milky blue eyes focused on my right cheek. "Sorry about having to hold Nudge back." I said with a wink he couldn't see. "Make sure her teeth didn't break your skin."

Iggy flushed red and probed his fingers over his palm. "Nah, she didn't break any skin. Do you think I'd have to get a rabies shot if she did?" I laughed lightly, to the surprise of the Flock and myself.

I just…missed them. Even though it hadn't even been a day, giving up the position as flock leader had a sense of closure to it.

Speaking of which…Zoey and that Bitch Queen.

I hopped up silently and gestured for the flock to follow. "I'm jut following my roommate." I slipped in, before any of them could ask. "She's got something that she wants to keep a secret from me and I wanna know what it is."

Not true. She had told me everything, but I was just curious and bored.

Fang rolled his eyes and followed me slowly, until he did that stupid camouflage trick. The rest of the Flock followed my lovely example, and it was comforting to hear their heartbeats drum in my ears at the silent moments. This stalking was more like a game than serious business. First of all, our targets had no clue they were being followed, and no senses to figure it out. Second of all, we weren't currently risking our lives. Third of all, we weren't isolated in a stupid submarine.

Total started whining halfway through and Nudge was rocking on her heels from staying silent for so long. I couldn't help but smile from their efforts and gave them a quick thumbs up. Nudge's face lit up like the sun and her bouncing decreased a little in tempo.

Our targets a had a predictable pattern, and we found ourselves going ahead of them and waiting for them to catch up. Right as Aprhodite and Zoey passed over the bushes the flock was crouched behind, Gazzy's eyes widened and he muttered a quiet "oops."

Before I could ask him what was wrong, my nose died and was trying to claw it's way out of this life. Zoey and Aphrodite stared at the green mushroom cloud that had formed around a choking Flock and their eyes landed on me. One pair of eyes was confused and the other was livid. Both of them were covering their noses.

I waved sheepishly as I held my breath, waiting for the awful scent to dissipate. "So…." I said, my voice even. "Fancy meeting you here."

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Thanks for reading! Review please? (Ugh, I'm super sick right now...and I still have to go to school tomorrow...)


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